I’m fine. PENNSYLVANIA

I’m fine: PENNSYLVANIA

“Our world is facing a mental health crisis. 

As artists, we believe in the power of art to ignite change and to create new perspectives.

We also believe in you, the community, as agents of positive change. 

It all starts with a conversation.”

– Carrie Breschi & Maureen Joyce

Co-Curators, I’m fine.

This meaningful exhibit features ceramic masks, stories, and photographs from I’m fine. workshop and residency participants, resulting in an impactful, multimedia experience. I’m fine., a phrase we often say when we are not fine, is a statewide Pennsylvania community project dedicated to sculpting mental health awareness and conversations through art.

The project was initiated in 2019 by community-engaged artists Carrie Breschi and Maureen Joyce who understood the significance of intersecting mental health awareness and art in our communities. I’m fine. consists of a series of workshops where participants create ceramic masks that represent the outward “mask” each wears to portray, hide, or minimize their emotions and mental health challenges.  This community project is dedicated to Joyce’s son Patrick who took his own life in 2018.

To date, more than 17 public art installations and gallery exhibits have showcased the unique masks and personal stories of the participants, which in turn educate the viewers in a new light, helping to de-stigmatize mental illness. The series of I’m fine. art installations have served as a thread that ties Pennsylvanians together to validate that mental illness does not discriminate, that it is real, and that there are resources to help.

We invite you to immerse yourself in this emotive exhibit, and to continue open and honest mental health conversations in your community.

Breschi and Joyce are two socially engaged artists whose work is built on the philosophy that the visual arts can ignite positive change in our communities.  For five years, their creative foundation has been rooted in the process of art to initiate, applaud, and continue mental health conversations.

Both artists have embedded themselves and conducted thought-provoking hands-on work in communities across Pennsylvania, including Cumberland, Dauphin, York, Allegheny, and Perry Counties. They have facilitated over 80 I’m fine. workshops and residencies and curated more than 17 art installations.

Breschi and Joyce applaud the openness, courage, and creativity of the participants, each as unique and diverse as their masks. Young and not-so-young, strong, and struggling, many ethnicities and all pronouns, I’m fine. attendees have included healthcare workers, middle and high school students, cancer survivors, war veterans, college students, young professionals, community stakeholders, teachers, and more. Both artists agree it has been a true privilege to work with one and all.

I’m fine. would like to applaud their program sponsors for their statewide support:

MAJOR FINANCIAL SPONSORS

American Eagle Outfitters Foundation, Arts in Education (Allegheny, Cumberland, Perry, and York Counties), Ceramic Supply Pittsburgh, The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, M&T Bank, Madison Settlement Services, The McCormick Family Foundation, Memorial Health Fund, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation

PRIMARY FISCAL SPONSORS

Carlisle Arts Learning Center, Center for Advanced School Teaching and Learning, Creative York, Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media

ABOVE AND BEYOND SUPPORT

I’m fine. Team Members: Deb Allen, Tom Oakes, Carol Reed